Facts about Lithuania

1. Lietuva: In Lithuanian, Lithuania is called ‘Lietuva’

2. Easter: In Lithuania, it’s not the Easter Bunny that brings eggs at Easter; it’s “Easter Grandma”

3. National sport: The national sport in Lithuania is basketball and the Lithuanian national team is one of the best in the world. Several Lithuanian basketball players have played in the American NBA league

4. Christianity: In 1387, Lithuania was the last country in Europe to be converted to Christianity by the Grand Duke Jogaila. This happened after the Crusaders and the Livonian Order had been trying to convert the pagan population for more than 100 years

5. Pagan traditions: Although Lithuania has been a Christian country for hundreds of years, there are still several pagan traditions that live on. Some of these are even part of Christian rituals and events

Fact: Trakai is both the name of a town and a castle — Attribution: jo.sau + Mindaugas Danys – Flickr.com

Fact: The town and castle of Trakai are some of the most popular tourist destinations in Lithuania due to their scenic surroundings and close proximity to the capital Vilnius

6. Former great power: In the 14th century, Lithuania was one of the largest countries in Europe and included present-day Belarus and Ukraine, as well as parts of Poland and Russia

7. The Baltic chain: On August 23, 1989, Lithuania was part of the Baltic Chain; a demonstration against the Soviet Union’s then occupation of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. During the demonstration, around 2 million people joined hands and formed a 600 km long chain that stretched through all three countries

8. National perfume: Lithuania is the only country in the world to have a national perfume; The Scent of Lithuania. The perfume can be used on the body, but is actually intended for the home. The scent is said to contain the entire history of the nation

9. Nature: Around 1/3 of Lithuania is covered by forest. The landscape is generally characterized by low-lying wetlands with many small lakes

10. National bird: Lithuania’s national bird is the stork, with a relatively high number of storks found outside of urban areas

Fact: Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania — Attribution: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra – Wikipedia.org + F Mira – Flickr.com

The capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, is home to approximately 535,000 inhabitants and is the largest city in the country

Geographic facts

Location: Eastern Europe. Between Russia and Lithuania with coastline on the Baltic Sea
Country borders: Belarus (680 km), Lithuania (576 km), Poland (91 km), Russia (Kaliningrad) (227 km)
Coastline: 90 km
Climate: Alternating between continental and coastal climates. Wet, moderate winters and mild, warm summers
Landscape: Lowlands. Many small lakes scattered across the countryside. Fertile soil
Lowest point: 0 m (Baltic Sea)
Highest point: 294 m (Aukstojas)
Natural resources: Peat, arable land and timber
Largest city: Vilnius
Capital city: Vilnius
Total area (square kilometers): 65.290,00 (2021)
Land areas (km2): 62.585,35 (2015)
Urban areas (km2): 1.185,85 (2015)
Agricultural land (km2): 29.378,00 (2021)
Agricultural area (% of total area): 46,92 (2021)
Forest area (% of land area): 35,18 (2021)
Plant species (higher), endangered: 1,00 (2018)
CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita): 4,18 (2020)

Demographic facts

Population

Population density (people per km2 total area): 44,73 (2021)
Population of largest city: 541.275,00 (2023)
Population growth (annual %): 1,41 (2023)
Population, total: 2.871.897,00 (2023)
Population growth in urban areas (annual %): 1,75 (2023)
Population in urban areas (% of total population): 87,78 (2022)
Population in rural areas (% of total population): 31,31 (2023)
Population growth in rural areas (annual %): 0,68 (2023)
Etniske grupper: 84.1% Lithuanians, 6.6% Poles, 5.8% Russians, 1.2% Belarusians, 1.1% other, 1.2% unspecified
Sprog: Lithuanian 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other 0.9% and unspecified 3.5%.
Religioner: 77.2% Roman Catholics, 4.1% Russian Orthodox, 0.8% Old Believers, 0.6% Evangelical Lutheran, 0.2% Evangelical Reformed, 0.8 others (incl. Sunni Muslims, Greek Catholics, Jews and Karaite Jews)
Net immigration: -13.128,00 (2023)

Birth and death rates

Fertility rate, total (births per woman): 1,27 (2022)
Birth rate, gross (per 1,000 inhabitants): 7,80 (2022)
Teenage mothers (% of women aged 15-19 who have had children or are pregnant): 12,10 (2020)
Death rate, gross (per 1,000 people): 15,10 (2022)
Life expectancy at birth, women (years): 80,30 (2022)
Life expectancy at birth, men (years): 71,50 (2022)
Life expectancy at birth, all (years): 75,79 (2022)
Mortality caused by traffic accidents (per 100,000 inhabitants): 8,10 (2019)
Mortality, women (per 1,000 adult women): 82,56 (2020)
Mortality, male (per 1,000 adult males): 223,68 (2020)
Suicide rate, women (per 100,000 women): 9,60 (2019)
Mortality, infant (per 1,000 live births): 2,90 (2022)

Work, income and education

Wage earners, total (% of total labor force): n/a
Income share of the highest 10%: 29,10 (2021)
Income share of the lowest 10%: 2,60 (2021)
Unemployment, total (% of total labor force): 6,84 (2023)
Labor force, total: 1.509.766,00 (2023)
Workforce with basic education (% of the workforce): 23,89 (2023)
Labor force with medium education (% of labor force): 59,88 (2023)
Number of poor cf. national poverty limits (% of the population): 20,90 (2021)
Proportion of the population with moderate or severe food insecurity (%): 8,50 (2021)
School enrolments, primary school (gross %): 101,43 (2021)
Youth unemployment, all young people (% of total labor force aged 15 - 24): 68,69 (2023)
Young people not in education, employment or training, total (% of all young people): 13,55 (2023)
Literacy/literacy, total adults (% of population over 15): 99,83 (2021)

Spending

Household (and NPIS) consumption expenditure (US$): 77.360.580.097,11 (2023)
Electricity consumption (kWh per inhabitant): 3.821,15 (2014)
Inhabitants using the Internet (% of the population): 88,50 (2023)
Mobile subscriptions (per 100 people): 139,14 (2022)
Number of smokers, total (over 15 years): 32,00 (2020)
Alcohol consumption per capita (litres of pure alcohol, expected estimates, +15 years): 13,81 (2023)

Business and tourism

Employers, total (% of total labor force): 1,42 (2022)
New companies (number of registrations): 5.334,00 (2022)
New businesses (new registrations per 1,000 inhabitants aged 15 - 64): 2,95 (2022)
Listed companies, total: 45,00 (2003)
Business conditions (0 = lowest grade to 100 = highest grade): 1.919,00 (2021)
International tourism, number of arrivals: 2.284.000,00 (2020)
International tourism, number of departures: 1.643.000,00 (2020)
Railway lines (total route kilometers): 1.919,00 (2021)
Railways, number of passengers transported (million passenger-kilometres): 329,00 (2021)

Health

Hospital beds (per 1,000 inhabitants): 5,96 (2020)
Suicide rate, men (per 100,000 men): 45,40 (2019)
Nurses and midwives (per 1,000 inhabitants): 9,66 (2021)
Doctors (per 1,000 inhabitants): 4,95 (2021)
Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15 - 49): 163,81 (2023)

Facts Lithuania's economy

GDP and GNI

BNP (US$): 81,62 (2019)
GDP growth (annual %): 77.836.396.962,77 (2023)
GDP per capita (US$): -0,34 (2023)
GDP, KPP (US$): 27.102,78 (2023)
BNI (US$): 148.985.419.391,69 (2023)
GNI growth (annual %): 75.164.374.517,98 (2023)
Gross savings (% of GDP): 2,95 (2022)

Inflation, interest rates and consumer prices

Deposit rate (%): 14,01 (2021)
Lending rate (%): 35,20 (2019)
Inflation, consumer prices (annual %): 18.740.287.265,24 (2023)
Consumer Price Index (2010 = 100): 163,81 (2023)

Trade and production

Trade (% of GDP): 153,15 (2023)
Vareeksport (US$): 42.639.000.000,00 (2023)
Vareimport (US$): 48.436.000.000,00 (2023)
Food exports (% of merchandise exports): 18,56 (2023)
Food imports (% of goods imports): 12,69 (2023)
Food Production Index (2004 - 2006 = 100): 99,53 (2022)
Index of animal production (2004 - 2006 = 100): 91,24 (2022)

Industry

Industry (including construction), value added (% of GDP): 20,82 (2023)
Industry (including construction), value added (US$): 24,08 (2023)
Industry, value added (% of GDP): 14,24 (2023)
Industry, value added (US$): 11.080.801.968,45 (2023)

Military

Armed forces, total: 37.000,00 (2020)
Military expenditure (% of GDP): 2,52 (2022)
Military Expenditure (US$): 1.732.269.220,09 (2022)

Others

Current health expenditure (% of GDP): 14,01 (2021)
Labor tax and contribution (% of company profit): 9,12 (2023)
Development Assistance (ODA) received per capita (US$): 0,13 (2017)
Social contributions (% of income): 1,07 (2022)

Geographic facts